


campfire cuddles

by thatphannie_person233



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Camping, Cuddles, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Rain, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:35:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26615332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatphannie_person233/pseuds/thatphannie_person233
Summary: dan takes a week vacation and gets stuck in a tent with phil lester, who so far could be the most annoying childish person he's met in a long time. but a storm can change people's mind.
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Comments: 19
Kudos: 34





	1. chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!! find me at @thatphannieperson on tumblr! :) (updates every wednesday, sometimes a bit earlier whoops)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay this fic has been interesting to write and i dont love it but i think it'll get better as it goes on, so i hope you enjoy it, i lost motivation for a few months but i'm back and trying to make it work so yeah! :) i've gone back and edited some of my mistakes and rephrased some things to try and improve it as much as i can but hope you like it :)

It was grey out. The streets of London fit the perfect British stereotype of overcast sky and a drizzle of rain, the only colour in the streets the red phone boxes and buses.  
It was boring, but so was Dan’s day so far. He had gotten up, gone to therapy, then spent the rest of the morning getting lost in his thoughts and ignoring whatever crappy rom-com was playing on the TV in front of him. 

He wanted that really though, to just be able to move to a new town and find love instantly like in a cheesy fanfic, or to run a coffee shop and just fall for the first cute guy to walk through the door.

Maybe he just didn’t want to be lonely.

Dan didn’t like to think about the reality of it, but he knew it was the truth, so he tried to distract himself by getting caught up in new hobbies or, and this was unlike him, fitness.  
Lately, it was running, running from his problems and everything that made him sad. He loved the way it made him feel like his chest was hollow and even if he wanted to, his legs would never stop moving. He loved how it made him feel productive afterwards, even if at the moment he just wanted to stop and scream all of his worries away.

He decided that he needed to do something else that day, so he got up and went for his daily run, even in the cold and rain, it just added to the fun and he knew he would warm up after a few minutes anyway. He ran and he ran until he was breathing in short sharp breaths, each exhale forming a little puff of hot air in front of him. Stopping to lean on a lamppost, Dan ran a hand through his now sweaty curls, calming himself down and trying to soften the cramp in the left side of his stomach.

The lamppost was covered in cheap ads for getaway vacations and things Dan wasn’t sure were legal to actually put on a lamppost, but one specific ad caught his eye:  
“Want to get away but don’t like the sand in your shoes? Want to go somewhere where the calmness of it all is perfect for a one week vacation? Call 078989-campout or go to campout.co.uk for seven days of relaxed camping!”

Sure the ad was slightly dodgy and phrased badly, but Dan was intrigued and knew that if anything would lift his spirits, a break away from the grey London skies would do the trick. In his notes app on his phone he wrote the number and website address, before taking a sip from his water bottle and continuing on his run.

-

When Dan got home he changed into something more comfortable after taking a shower and sat down on the sofa. He reached over and put his laptop on his knees, scrunching into a little ball, feet on the table in front of him. He opened up Google and typed the ad’s address into the search bar slowly. What popped up was a bright green website with the same paragraph from the ad in bold black letters and underneath that, a little information section, terms and conditions and all that.

Eye's skimming over the page Dan was reading it but he didn't care all too much. He didn’t mind the actual campground, the pictures and reviews looked nice, but he decided he’d try to spend most of the time doing the activities listed to try to distract himself. He wasn’t going on holiday (if you could call it that) just so he could go and be sad somewhere else, he was going so he could be outside and maybe learn some new skills.

So he signed up and started packing. He would be leaving in a week but didn’t really know what to pack. On the website it said that comping gear and tents would be provided, so he just packed warm clothes, jumpers and hats and his favourite sweatpants (all some variant of grey or black). He got a backpack ready for day to day use with a water bottle and some money for the trip there. He was ready to leave, and now that winter was starting and autumn was coming to a close Dan felt trapped inside even more. The only time he genuinely loved being in London was around Christmas, all the twinkling lights and just a general air of everything being okay for a little.

He also liked summers in London. He liked how it was always sunny, and there was always an ice cream truck around the corner that reminded him of when he was little. Not that he wanted to remember that time all too much.

As he waited for the day he’d leave, time seemed to speed up and with every minute that passed, he felt more excited to just leave the house and spend a week camping. When he was little he always wanted to go camping but his parents were too busy for that, and even if they wanted to they never found the time, so Dan was doing this for his younger self, and just to have some fun for once.

Monday finally came and Dan called a taxi to take him to the train station. He only had one bag and a backpack and a whole load of nervousness, but he’d get over it. The train station was pretty packed and people bustled by, going along with their day to day lives, heading to work or taking their kids to school, it was all quiet relaxing somehow, that even when Dan felt like a bit of a mess, the rest of the world continued on untouched reminding Dan things would be okay. The train wasn’t any less empty than the platform and there was only one seat by the aisle next to a tall black-haired man in a much too large jumper. Dan sighed and sat down pushing his bags under the seat, trying not to make eye contact with the man squashed up against his shoulder. He was too tall for this.

A few hours passed and Dan’s phone battery was down to 20% when the man's head leaned onto his shoulder. He was asleep. Dan didn’t want to move and wake him up and instead looked at what song the man was listening to.. It was “Breaking Free” from High School Musical. Dan wasn’t judging him, it was a good song, but this man looked like he was in his late twenties or early thirties, and most people their age wouldn’t normally listen to High School Musical. 

It was oddly endearing. A few more hours passed and the train pulled into a small station that looked old and slightly worn down. They were here.


	2. chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan gets assigned his tent with a less than neat Phil Lester.

People scrambled to get their bags from under the seats and leave, but the man next to Dan stayed asleep. Dan turned to him and gave him a poke in the side, willing him to wake up without having to say anything. “Huh?” the man said blearily, “Are we there yet?”

“Oh. Um. Yeah. You’re here for the camping thing right?”

“Yup,” he put his hand out for Dan to shake, even though there was little space between the two of them, “Phil Lester,” 

“Dan Howell,” Dan mumbled back and turned with his bags to let Phil leave the train, following behind. When the group left the train station, the sight that greeted them was underwhelming at best. It was a small village, four or five houses to the left and various shops to the right. Between a cafe and a local Sainsbury’s, there was a small alley leading to an open field with a dirt path going off into the distance. It was cliche, but cute, and Dan liked it in a way. A man in a dark green polo top and brown cargo pants stepped off the train, blowing a whistle to get everyone’s attention. He looked like he had never been cold in his life, or he was dressed like it.

“Listen up people, the campsite is a 20-minute walk away, let’s go!” he shouted, pointing at the path between the shops. The group of about twenty people all walked over, starting their trek to what seemed like the middle of nowhere. The field from the path was pretty, and every once and a while Dan would see a nice flower or cool rock, but eventually it just got boring, walking and walking not really knowing when he’d get there. By the time he started to complain in his head, that’s when a peek of the campsite started to show up. It wasn’t small, but it was simple, with ten tents in a crescent shape, surrounding a taller, more circus-like one. 

The group stopped in the middle of the tents and the man in the brown cargo trousers started to speak again. “My name is Mark, I’ll be your camp manager. You’ll be in tents of two people. The person in your tent will also be your partner for the activities we’ll be doing,” He went on like this for a few minutes, just going over the schedule for the week and meals, repeating what was already on the website.

Dan didn’t really mind the fact he’d be in a tent with someone else, the tents seemed to be relatively big and they’d only be sleeping there, spending most of the day outdoors. One by one everyone went up to Mark to be told what tent number they’d be in and who they’d be sharing with. Dan walked up to the front and smiled at Mark, trying to at least make a good first impression no matter how tired. “Dan right? You’ll be with Phil Lester in tent eight,” Mark said, mirroring Dan's smile and pointing over to what Dan assumes to be tent eight. Nodding and walking off, he thought back to Phil on the train, all smiles and High School Musical playlists.

The tent had a big zip on the front and little mesh windows either side that Dan would’ve found cute if he wasn’t bending over trying to fit through the door. What greeted his eyes physically hurt the minimalist part of himself. 

Clothes were pouring out of a bag in the middle of the tent and a bright neon sleeping bag was laid down next to it, making the room look messier than it was. Sitting on the sleeping bag was the man from the train - Phil - hunched over so his head wouldn’t brush the roof.

“Hi Dan! We’re sharing a tent!” Phil said cheerily. Dan narrowed his eyes and sat down too, looking Phil in the eyes.

“Hi, yeah uh, listen Phil. This-“ Dan gestured at the mess, “isn’t really gonna work.” Phil just looked at him, not saying anything but keeping the eye contact. “So,” Dan said, standing up and moving to the other side of the tent. He picked up some of the clothes and dropped them back into the open suitcase in the middle, clearing half the tent.

“This is my side-“ Dan continued, sitting down again, “and that’s your side!” he said with a slightly fake smile, trying not to come off as too rude, but not loving the sleeping arrangements.

“Um. Yeah. Okay!” Phil said, a flicker of upset on face, but maybe Dan was just imagining things. They continued unpacking in an awkward silence, leaving Dan to get lost in his thoughts. What was he doing here.


	3. chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dan makes a new friend and tries to fit into a wetsuit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i merged chapters 3 and four as they were both super short and kinda flowed better together so yeah :)

As it was still pretty early in the day and most people had already unpacked, Mark gathered everyone in the biggest tent of them all to tell them the plan.  
“Today we’ll be kayaking! You’ll be in a kayak with the person you share a tent with, as it makes my life easier,” this made a few people in the crowd laugh, including Dan, “We’ll be taking the bus to get there, so let’s go!”

The group headed to the bus, chatting on the way. Dan knew he should try to be a bit social since that’s why he was there, but only knew Phil, and he wasn’t in the mood to talk to him. You could barely say they knew each other anyway, all Dan knew was Phil liked Disney Channel movies from the early 2000s and wore mismatched socks. And was annoyingly pretty. Just annoying.  
Instead, Dan looked around at the other people heading back to the town. He could be whoever he wanted, free of the role he already had back in London, free from everyone he knew and everyone who judged him. And it made him feel good.

Taking another look at the crowd, his eye caught on a guy in bright clothes and a weirdly shaped hat with a small green backpack over one shoulder. He looked young and tired, and the hat wasn’t doing a good job at covering the brown mess of curls on his head. His jacket was puffy and traffic cone orange and Dan unironically loved it.

“Er, hi! I’m Dan!” he said after stepping over a large puddle and patting down his hair. The guy jumped a bit, but smiled politely and replied, “Hi, I’m PJ,” They started talking as they were walking, and got along pretty well but eventually, the road changed from rocky to muddy and the group was getting antsy. Mark looked over his shoulder and called “We’re here!”

What met their eyes could definitely be described as disappointing. Three small shacks, each with a small faded plaque on the doors were lined up next to the river bank. One of the doors slowly opened and a short lady stepped out in a wetsuit, smiling broadly and holding an oar twice her size. Mark walked up to stand next to her and waved everyone over. “People, this is Francine! She’ll be helping us with kayaking today! Over to her!” Francine’s smile stayed plastered on her face as she put the oar down and started to talk.

“So today we’ll be kayaking as Mark said! Now, this is what we’re gonna do, come over this way,” she headed over to the river bank where one kayak was laying.  
Francine gave them a quick overview and told them to pair up and that it was two to a kayak. Mark paired up with her and Dan made quick eye contact with Phil. Phil raised an eyebrow, and Dan looked away quickly. He turned around and ignored the soft slightly disappointed look on Phil’s face. PJ showed up again after going to get the wetsuits from one of the shacks. 

“Mark said we need to change over there,”

They waited in the short queue for the bigger shack and stood in slightly uncomfortable silence, shifting around and smiling politely at the other people in the line. Dan's turn came up and he hunched to get through the little doorway of the shack. When he was done putting the tiny wetsuit over his bathing suit he shoved his clothes into his little travel backpack and walked out, feeling oddly like a 6 foot tall penguin who couldn’t move his limbs properly. Pushing the door open, he made eye contact with PJ and quickly muttered, “Don’t say a word,”  
Someone laughed from the back of the queue, and Dan saw Phil trying to stifle a laugh. Of course. This was gonna be a long day. \- Dan wobbled before PJ grabbed his shoulder so he wouldn’t fall off. “Phil! I told you not to poke me with your oar again!” “Is that onomatopoeia?” Phil asked, rowing over closer to Dan and PJ’s kayak with a smirk on his face. “Mate, I don’t think that’s accurate,” Dan replied as he tried to row away, PJ sat in the seat behind him laughing. Phil leaned so he wouldn’t end up in the water, “I studied the English language at uni as well,” he rolled his eyes jokingly. Dan raised an eyebrow sceptically, “Really?” “Yeah. Got a masters too,” “Oh,” Dan’s smile faltered a bit, but he got distracted by the splash from behind him. “Peej?” “I fell in!” PJ yelled. “I can see that are yo-” Dan stopped, feeling a quick pain in his back and coldness seeping through him. The next thing he knew he was bobbing up and down next to PJ, his hair in his face and absolutely no clue what was up and what was down. Phil looked at him innocently. “You-” Phil threw his head back and laughed, his face scrunching up in a way Dan didn’t want to admit was cute. This lasted for about two seconds before there was another splash and Phil fell in too. He surfaced coughing a little and it was Dan’s turn to laugh, “Your… quiff!!” he managed to choke out between laughs. Phil climbed back onto his boat and ran a hand through his hair, trying to style it back, “Says you. You look like a rat.” Dan grinned, “A pretty rat.” he said and Phil rolled his eyes at him. PJ was watching the two talk, now on the kayak, as he helped Dan up too. He had a smirk on his face that Dan was definitely going to have to talk to him about later. “I’ll see you, later. C’mon PJ we need to catch up with the rest of the group.” Dan looked back at Phil who was smiling stupidly. The water was cold and the sun was warm and Dan found one Phil Lester extremely annoying for reasons he couldn’t pinpoint. 


	4. chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> campfire and cuddles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my god i was rewriting this a little and i forgot how much i loved this chapter i hope u like it too

A warm glow of the fire settled around the campsite as everyone calmed down a little. Chatter surrounded everyone, and Dan stood back watching, finding the heat too much with his knitted jumper and sweatpants. PJ looked happy enough, chatting to a girl with long blonde hair, so Dan let him be. The warmth still reached him but less intense than if he were up by the fire, and he felt comfortable and content, occasionally catching snippets of conversations. “Not much of a people person then?”

Dan jumped back, “Jesus Phil you scared the shit out of me!”

“So you’re not gonna tell me why you’re standing here alone when you could be eating marshmallows and playing music? I came to check on you,”

Dan’s hands tensed by his waist and he uncomfortably picked at the edge of his jumper, “I’m fine, oh my god. I don’t have an appetite and am doing just fine here, thank you very much,”

Phil stepped back slowly, nodding and looking down at the ground, “I just wanted to check you were okay. You seemed a bit out of it,” he said softly, “I wanted to apologise for pushing you into the lake and stuff…I thought you’d still be upset at me”

“Oh,” Dan looked down at the ground too, feeling some of his anger ebb away. “No, it’s ok don’t worry,”

“Wanna come sit by the fire with me?” Phil asked, “You don’t need to eat anything or sing or whatever, just come and sit?” he added quickly looking up at Dan and smiling gently. Dan reluctantly smiled back and nodded, following Phil over to where the group and Mark were sitting, now passing around plates of some sort of cooked food that admittedly looked pretty good.   
Phil sat down first, patting a space on one of the logs next to him. PJ made eye contact with Dan and did that dumb half-smirk thing he did back when they were kayaking. Yeah, Dan was definitely going to have to talk to him about that.

“So what are you doing here?” Phil asked.

“Small talk? Really?” Phil just nodded and Dan sighed, “Well I came here to get away for a while, ignore everything else and just go camping for a while ya know?” he picked at a bit of fluff at the edge of his jumper again and already felt the heat getting to his head. He knew this was a bad idea.

“You might want to take that off,” Phil said offhandedly. Dan smirked at him and Phil turned slightly red, but maybe it was the glow of the fire. “I didn’t mean it like that and you know it.”

“You never know,” Dan said, a smirk still on his face. Phil just laughed and reached into the bowl by the fire for some marshmallows. “Are you sure you’re not gonna eat anything? It’s late and I’m not sharing the snacks I have in our tent.”

“Phil! You have food in our tent? Do you want bugs?”

“Anything’s a pet if you try hard enough,”

Dan just laughed and put his hand on Phil’s shoulder, “You sure are something,”

“I’ll take that as a good thing,”  
-  
The night went on and more people headed to their tents to warm up after kayaking and start heading to bed, and soon Dan and Phil were the only ones sitting by the fire that was slowly burning down to nothing, but the two didn’t seem to be going anywhere. Dan was getting sleepy, and when he got sleepy he got giggly. That was obvious. Every time Phil made a dumb joke he’d laugh and find a way to touch his hand or arm. Phil was slowly getting tired too and when he got tired he made dumb jokes and seemed to be about ten times more touch starved than usual, so wasn’t complaining about Dan reaching out to take his hand.

The campfire was softer now and less bright than earlier in the evening, mirroring how they felt; a little hazy and calming down. Phil tugged gently at the sleeve of dan’s jumper with his free hand, “You never took this off,”

Dan breathed a laugh and wrapped his arm around Phil, pulling him into a hug. They stayed like that - Phil’s head resting on Dan’s shoulder, Dan’s arm around his waist for what seemed like forever until Phil heard Dan snore quietly and knew they should go back to their tent. Shaking him awake, Phil pulled Dan up with him and helped him up a little.  
-  
Dan woke up in the morning cold and alone. He had a vague memory of Phil helping him to the tent, then nothing, warm arms around him, falling asleep easily and then. Nothing. Phil was gone.  
Dan sat up and rubbed his face with his palm, “Shit,”


	5. chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> campfire cuddles :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi again :) if you're back um read the notes for the first chapter csuse i said everything there anyway hop eu like this short chapter im backkk

Dan stepped out of the tent and looked around at the early morning scene. The edges of the clearing were fledged with tall trees and bushes and the wet grass glittered from the settled mist. It was calm and Dan breathed in the fresh air, finding it a nice break from polluted London.

A breeze blew by and Dan zipped up the jacket he had over a jumper he didn’t remember packing. Maybe it was Phil’s; he did just grab it from a little pile that had already formed in a corner of their little space.

“Up already?” a voice asked, making Dan jump.

“Jesus PJ you scared me,” he muttered.

“I was bringing you some coffee from the main tent,” PJ continued, ignoring Dan’s tired haze. 

“Oh. Thank you,” Dan took the cup from PJ’s hand, treasuring the little warmth he could get in the cold. 

They sipped their coffee quietly, enjoying the peaceful morning, the chatter from the main tent filling the silence. “What’s up? You seem… off?”

Dan looked up and sighed. He was used to ignoring people asking that and pretending he slept those full eight hours, it was normal at this point. He was used to ignoring the calls from his mum, or rare texts from his brother, so a friend he’d known for barely even a week would be easy enough to brush off.

“Oh yeah! Just a rough night...,” PJ gave him a look

“What?” He said after another sip of coffee, narrowing his eyes, questioning the man across from him.

“No, no it’s nothing. Just a thought,”

“Wow, there’s a first time for everything,” Dan said with a laugh, and PJ hit him on the arm with his free hand. 

“And to think I brought you coffee and everything,” PJ replied with a grin.

Dan ignored this and moved on, “So uh, what’s the breakfast situation here?” PJ’s face lit up at the mention of food and he turned back to the main tent. 

“My PJ senses are tingling and I think I smell eggs,”

“One, never say PJ senses again. Two, I think I can let myself off the hook just this once, eggs sound amazing right now,”

PJ gave him a look, “Off the hook?” Dan explained, “I’m usually vegan but I need some food right now, and I’m pretty sure they’re not gonna have a vegan option you know?” 

“Oh! That’s cool then,” PJ said with a smile, “So food then?” 

Dan nodded and headed from his tent to the main one in the middle of the clearing, stopping only to look up at the sky again. “It’s great out here isn’t it?” he asked in a voice quiet enough that it was nearing a whisper. 

“What?”

“No, I was just saying, it’s great out here,”

“Don’t come to the countryside much?”

“No. It’s all London city life and boring job, there’s not too much to it,” Dan says with a sigh, still looking at the sky. It was a greyish blue, with pinkish-white clouds and a general calmness to it. Dan thought to himself that it looked painted, like out of a piece of art his mum might’ve gotten him because “his apartment needs more colour”.

“What do you do?”

“I’m an author. Haven’t done much writing lately though,” Dan said with a forced smile.

“I get that,” PJ muttered, “I’m meant to be an artist and I haven’t drawn in ages. I live out here in the country but I come to this camping thingy every once and a while to get away, you know?”

“That’s cool,” They lingered for a moment, staring at the ground and the sky before PJ spoke up again, breaking the silence.

“Food then?” Dan looked up and smiled, thankful that PJ could keep a conversation going better than he could.

“Sounds great. I need tea,”


End file.
